(Newswire.net-- January 12, 2018) --On his very first interview with a Dutch journalist, the new US ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra claimed his gaff regarding Dutch politicians is a hoax, but the journalist came prepared.

During his first press conference held on January 10, a Dutch journalist questioned a new US envoy to the Netherlands about the comment he gave previously about Dutch politicians being “burned.”

“I did not say that,” Hoekstra stressed. “That is actually an incorrect statement,” he said at that time, adding “we [in the US] would call it fake news,” he added.

The problem is, however, that there is a video recording of former US Congressman of Dutch descent saying precisely that. A short video posted on Twitter by TV News channel RTL Nieuws Roel Geeraedts shows Hoekstra commenting how the Dutch politicians are being set on fire by radical Islamists.

“Chaos in the Netherlands. There are cars being burned, there are politicians that are being burned,” Hoekstra said at a press conference in the David Horowitz Freedom Center back in 2015.

Now, the US ambassador to Amsterdam adamantly denies he ever said such a thing claiming it is all a hoax.

In fact, the day after the December interview Hoekstra issued an apology, admitting he “made certain remarks in 2015 and regrets the exchange during the Nieuws interview.” He also said it is “the greatest honor of [his] life to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands,” Russia Today reports.

The very unconformable interview with the US ambassador continued as his Excellency tried to deny that only a minute earlier he said that the journalist is referring to fake news. “I did not call it fake news. I did not use this word today,” Hoekstra told the stunned Dutch journalist.

Apparently the journalist didn’t just let it go and again confronted Hoekstra who denied to answer his question.

“This is the Netherlands, you have to answer questions,” the Dutch journalist said to the new US envoy to the Netherlands.

Dutch media confronted Hoekstra’s performance with a backlash. De Telegraaf daily called the US ambassador “controversial” while RTL News joked about a “very uncomfortable meeting between ambassador and journalists.”